Trading Fair
by Xx Soul xX
Summary: She was given away so easily. To a man she didn't want. What she did want, was for someone to save her. She needed it. More than she knew. Sometimes things can get worse before they get better.


Trading Fair

Intro

I sat in the dark room, my hands covering my ears, sitting against the door. I shut my eyes tightly, humming to myself as I rocked back and forth. I was trying to block out the voices of anguish and anger behind me. I could feel my world crashing as I overheard. Suddenly my hopes and dreams had an expiration date.

"Absolutely not! You can have anything else you want, but you would have to kill me before you could even _dream_ about having my daughter!" My father, Charlie, cried out. I could hear the pain in his voice, the fear. I had to fight back the tears. Crying meant that I was giving up.

"Now Charlie, you know, deep down, I _am_ going to get my way. I would hope that you haven't forgotten about what happened," an unfamiliar deep voice was speaking now. I've heard this voice before. He comes around to talk to my dad every once and awhile. Charlie sends me to my room when he comes. Usually they talk too quietly for me to hear. So I never gave it much thought before now.

"I want Bella." The stranger spoke evenly.

"Why? Of what purpose is she to you? She's still so young. Please, I beg of you, take me instead." I had to bite my tongue to keep from yelling out. Poor Charlie, sounding so weak and vulnerable. I know he had a debt to repay of some sort. But was it really so bad that he had no other choice but to sell his daughter?

"Sorry Charlie. I want what I want, and for the reasons why, well, you should be able to figure that out on your own."

Up until tonight, I never knew that this man had any knowledge of my existence. My life was changing before my eyes. A deluge of questions raced into my mind as if a dam had broken open somewhere in the depths. It became harder to breath and I swear I heard a faint ringing noise. The image of a fierce storm flashed in my mind.

I'm not really going to have to go with him am I? I don't even know who he is? Is he dangerous? Why does Charlie have to answer to him? Is this even legal? Why doesn't Charlie just call the cops? What if I run away? Just for a little while as things clear up for him? Or will that just hurt him even more? Why don't I get a say in any of this? Can't someone just come and save me? …. Please

There was a long pause between them. All I could hear was the clock tick, and my heart beating, so eerily in sync with it. It was as if my minutes were numbered. I only had so many heartbeats left to tick. Why was I feeling like my life was truly in danger? Surely, I convinced myself, I'm not going anywhere.

"James," The first time I heard his name. "What do you intent to do with my daughter?" My eyes shot open as Charlie spoke. He wasn't really considering letting me go was he? There was a short pause before he answered. My angry stomach knotted and pulled as I thought of him smiling in Charlie's defeat.

"Why, Marry her of course." My heart didn't just skip a beat, but it stopped working altogether. All thoughts in my head ceased to function. All I was able to do then was listen intently.

"Why? What are you going to get out of that? Don't you already have an array of "concubines" living with you? Why is my daughter so special?" There was a low animalistic giggle in response to that. Please, someone, anyone, just rescue me…

"Simply put, she has something that no one else has. Let's face it. You have no other choice but to give into me. Even if you choose something so drastic as…well _death_, I'll still get what I want in the end."

"…Are you…. You're … not going to hurt her…are you?" Charlie spoke so softly, I couldn't tell who was speaking. He sounded so worried and as wore down as a path of grass that has been walked on too many times. I could imagine him sitting there at the kitchen table, with the dim light hanging overhead, occasionally flickering on and off. We were always meaning to get that fixed.

I didn't like he way the conversation was turning. It sounded like one of the world's most stubborn men, my father, was giving up.

"Charlie!" James mocked shock. "Do you know nothing of me? Never in a million centuries would I ever, ever, lay a finger of harm on a woman." There was another long pause.

"Alright, but please, …please, make sure that she is happy. If you have a heart at all, treat her well. It's not like I have any room to ask for a favor, and I have no choice but to trust you. Still, please… please. She's my only daughter…."

"NO!! I WILL NOT!!" before I even knew what I was doing, I stood up in a hurry, almost hitting my head on the doorknob, and barged out of my room in protest. There was no way I was going to be… _sold_ to some stranger. I would kill myself first.

"Oh Bella! What a surprise. I didn't know you were home." James spoke, his words meaning one thing, but his expression meaning another. He didn't seem at all surprised that I interrupted. He knew that I was behind the door listening the entire time. "If I had known you were listening, I would have came to talk to your father another time.

"How _dare_ you?!" I was speaking to both of them, Charlie for giving me away so easily, and this man, whom I've never met, for stealing my life. My anger was flooding over the rims of my container.

James was not a physically repulsive man. He had both dark hair and eyes. I could see how common women would be attracted to him. But I saw something vile about him. He had eyes that reflected the venomous evil of a snake. His posture was that of a crooked, mangy wolf. He smiled at me, and I could've sworn that I saw pointed teeth.

"Bella, won't you sit down with us? There really is no reason to get all worked up." I hesitated, he was saying it so nicely, it almost sounded sincere, but I caught the undertone in his voice. It was similar to a predator trying to catch his prey.

Still, when I gathered up my courage to look at him, I couldn't look away. His eyes cast a curse on me and I felt myself moving forward without my brain's permission. I sat down on the kitchen table, in the middle of the two men, but still significantly closer to my father. Eternity passes us by without a word. I was afraid to look up. But somewhere, deep down, I mustered some form of courage, and met James's eyes. He was staring at me with a slight hint of a smile. I had to look back down at the table again. I could feel the dark clouds forming a catastrophe overhead. There was no way to go back to the way things were now.

"Bella."

I looked up at James, giving him what I hoped was a neutral expression. The last thing I wanted to do was upset him.

" Why don't you decide? I have some…. Other business to attend to right now. I'll come by tomorrow afternoon. How does that sound?"

I wanted to just gag at the sound of his voice. He pretended to be so pleasant. It made me sick.

"Charlie, I trust that you don't want Bella," he looked at me while pausing, "to have to make an uneducated decision." He smiled at me. "Goodnight to the both of you. I'll see you tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it." My brows were fiercely furrowed as my eyes bore a hole into the table. James got up, put his hat and overcoat on, and showed himself out of our tiny apartment. Right now, it seemed smaller than I could have ever imagined. The walls were shrinking, and there was no air to breathe. It became a lonely closet.

Charlie and I sat looking at the round table in silence for a long time. Both of us were too afraid to be the first to speak.

"Bella," he spoke in a low whisper. My ears strained to hear him.

"I can't marry him dad. I don't even know who he is, I—"

"He'll kill me Bella. He'll kidnap you. He'll kill your mother. He will do _anything_ to have you. He's made that part clear. Please Bella, for your safety. Go with him."

Tears were barking at my eyes to let them flow freely. A few escaped. "Why should I? What does he have against you?" He flinched at my words. He didn't know that I knew he was in some sort of trouble.

Charlie breathed in deeply, preparing to talk. "I owe him… a big favor, I guess would be the way to put it. He's a very powerful man. Sad to say, he has never failed to get what he wants."

"Why? Do you owe him money? Dad, I can work or something!" I asked breathlessly, in defeat.

"Don't ask me that. I hope you never have to know. I want to protect you as much as I can. It's my duty. Going with James, well, it's probably the best decision for everyone."

"But how do I know he won't hurt me?" Charlie just stared at the invisible spot on the table. I waited patiently. He eventually spoke.

"We just have to trust him." He made a twisted face. He was in pain. I couldn't stand seeing him like that. Trusting James wasn't going to happen, but I couldn't let anything harmful happen to my father.

"Alright." My voice came out in a ghostly whisper. I didn't even recognize it. He rubbed his eyes and suddenly my father looked over a century old. _I'm doing this for Charlie._ I told myself over and over. But it didn't help the complete and pure pain I felt as my walls caved in.

Charlie got up from his chair and pulled me up to hug him. "I love you, Bells," he said in my ear. "I swear, one day I'll get you back. I'll be able to make it up to you. It's not forever." He squeezed me tightly. I bit my tongue to keep from bawling. Charlie was not the touchy-feely type, and I knew how hard this was for the both of us.

I waited until he safely in his room before I entered mine. It was dark and I didn't bother to turn the light on. As I shut the door, tears were exploding from my face. I grabbed my pillow to muffle the sobs heaping from deep in my chest. I curled into a ball on my floor, wishing for someone to save me.

_Please, please_.


End file.
